Ka'ahari Nebula Rising
by Korean Mina
Summary: Her people made the ultimate sacrifice in order to slow the advance of the Shadowscythe. She wants to rebuild their glory, but complications arise. Who is the man that haunts her - and why does he torment her so? MECHQUEST


**Ka'ahari Nebula Rising**

Prologue: Legacy of the Harieshaka

"Where are they?" she asked, searching for the tell-tale blip that should have been on the radar screen. It was missing. Of the countless number of green dots present, there was just one missing. "Where _is _it?" she repeated. There was no answer, just an ashen look on the communication transmitter's face; he was just as distraught as she was. Panic rose from deep inside her gut. "Jacob, how long do we have?"

"Six minutes, Dame Ka'ahari."

"Then we wait." The seconds ticked by, too quickly for Ka'ahari. Four minutes. Three. "Jacob, send out a hawking signal. They might have gone on another ship, or maybe they've been sighted." There was hope. Thin, but possible._ Please, be there_. _For all of our sakes, be there!_

He complied with the order and flipped a small switch on his left. Ka'ahari fitted on her headset and held the piece against her ear firmly with one hand. "All ships of the Harieshaka fleet, this is Dame Ka'ahari transmitting. Report immediately if the Dauphin, Dauphina, and the Sieur have boarded or have been sighted at all." There was a prolonged crackle from the other end that seemed to last for years, and then one by one, each captain answered with a negative.

Two minutes. "All Captains, red alert. Report immediately should the Royal Family establish contact via your frequency. All Captains, red alert. Keep a sharp eye out, two if you can afford it."

There was a heavy silence. No one dared to move, not even the civilian passengers riding in the cargo hold. Although they had no idea of the complications that had risen, they seemed to sense the fact that something was wrong. They were deathly quiet, their eyes wide and anticipating. _Is something wrong_? they seemed to ask through the soundproof glass barrier. One minute, seven seconds.

Ka'ahari gripped the ship's steering controls and nodded to Jacob, who flipped yet another switch, this time the PA system. "Prepare the detonation ports." There were audible gasps over the communicator, presumably the civilians. "Input code is Telemachus 4622791. I repeat, activate all detonation ports, Telemachus 4622791, and ready the hyperspace launch. We will depart in approximately fifty eight seconds. All passengers and crewmembers must buckle up and prepare for take-off. Witness the destruction of an entire Shadowscythe colony and the salvation of the galaxy. Long live the legacy of the loyalty of the Harieshaka!" There was enthusiastic applause and cheering at both ends of the communicator. "This is Dame Ka'ahari, signing off. May the solar wind always be to our backs and the Utopia Nebula ahead." Ka'ahari reached over the controls to deactivate the PA and loosened the headset. She drew her onyx black hair behind her ear and rubbed her eyes agitatedly.

Thirty-nine seconds.

"Jacob, fill in the shield between us and the passengers." Several seconds later, the quiet humming sound of the previously clear barrier becoming opaque signaled the all-clear. "Now relay to all the Captains – and Captains only - the second to last message the Dauphina sent."

He passed his fingers deftly over a few controls and brought up a jumble of letters and numbers on the screen. They rearranged themselves into a comprehensible set of familiar letters and characters, green text floating on the table view. Short and simple, yet it held implications that would define the impending future of the Harieshaka.

-_We are the Royal Family. This is our final transmission. Due to the betrayal of a secret traitor, the port holding our ship has been locked down and disabled. If we are unable to rejoin the fleet, do not mourn us. We entrust your safety to Dame Ka'ahari.-_

Immediately, the man relayed the message to the Captains.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty.

The control screen, previously displaying the point of view of each individual ship in the fleet, was suddenly peppered with thumbnail images of Ka'ahari as all the Captains tuned their cameras to the lead ship.

"All hail the Dauphine!" There was no crying, no grieving.

Ka'ahari was strong. She would not fail her people. She would not break down in their time of need. "Ready boosters! We advance in sixteen seconds!" To Jacob, off her headset, she said, "Bring up the very last message they sent. Our eyes only."

_-Ka'ahari, light of our life. Whether fate ordained our sacrifice or it is simple misfortune, we have been sentenced to death. Do not fall. Do not hesitate. Mourn if you must, but be strong. Your father and I, and your younger brother, we know what must be done. The guards and the pilot of our ship are willing to make a last stand. Save the Harieshaka. Save our people. Do not fall. You have our infinite love. Lead them well, and remember us. We love you. May the solar wind always be to your back. –_

"All Captains, prepare for the utter destruction of the Shadowscythe! Eight seconds! We must not be late! The galaxy is at stake! Have everyone belted in; there must be no casualties. Pilots, Captains! Four seconds and counting!"

Ka'ahari raised her fist above her head. "For the glory of the Harieshaka! DETONATE!"

_Chapter I: Off the Record_

"Kah? A teacher's assistant?" Dean Warlic furrowed his brow and laced his fingers together on the desk.

"Why not? She's more than capable, Warlic. She was capable the day she arrived in the dropship. For God's sake, she drove the blasted thing and managed to land on a field the size of a postage stamp! That should say something," Denara insisted. Her fiery eyes seemed to burn in their sockets as she glared at her superior with a single-minded determination.

"I am well aware that she is _capable_. In fact, the problem may be that she is too much so. Don't forget that you are Wolfblade's Head and will be required to share your assistant when needed. And considering how beloved she is among your House professors, they will want to employ her skills whenever they can. Aleysia's final test for her students requires that they beat her assistant. Obviously, none will pass if she uses Kah, but Aleysia won't pay any attention to that…"

"Not all of us are like that. Besides, it doesn't matter. I'll just tell her to give Kah a stripped mecha or something."

"She set the present school record for the entrance exam _with_ a stripped mecha," Warlic reminded Denara gently.

"Oh, I'll give them another handicap or two once I think of them. But the real issue is, Warlic, I need an assistant," she said impatiently. "You know that Furuhai's going to leave and work for Evil Corp, what with their benefits and salary, and Starbuck's getting tired of being jostled around so much. So give me the paperwork and you'll never have to worry about it ever again."

The dean rubbed his temples with his index and middle fingers. "I thought you hated Runehawks," he sighed, resorting to mentioning the rivalry between the Wolfblades and the Runehawks.

_Oh, he's desperate_. "Can you honestly say to me that she is a true Runehawk? She's got fire! Iron will, loyalty, leadership skills, fighting spirit! She's got Wolfblade blood, alright. Kah just chose the wrong house."

"Unlike your House students, however, she doesn't go around challenging every student on campus, nor does she blow up pieces of our property."

"She'll come to her senses. Runehawk pacifism has poisoned her brain."

Warlic smiled, amused. Denara was a rare breed. "Alright. I will call her in and ask her opinion," Warlic ceded reluctantly.

"Right now? We usually tell them around class graduation time, and that isn't even for – "

"Kah is a special case. If she is to choose, she must make preparations now. I will explain to you later. Should she agree, I will give her over to you immediately. If not, the subject never comes back up. Do you accept these terms?"

"Definitely. You'll see," Denara challenged. "She's got the desire to excel. She'll do it."

"Perhaps she will. But for different reasons, I think."

"Not a problem, Tek. Glad to do it," Kah said as she untied the protective apron from around her waist. "Feel free to call me for help anytime."

"I will. Thanks again!" Tek waved goodbye as she watched Kah walk out the door. "She's something, isn't she?" she mused. "The University dean just calling her up all of a sudden. I wonder what he needs her for?"

"Not our business, twk, twk," Scrap sang out as she flew small circles around Tek's head.

"Right," the mechanic chuckled. She petted the furry Farbit and got back to work.

"Good morning, Kah. I apologize for interrupting your Saturday morning."

"Not at all, Dean Warlic. I'm glad to be of some use to you."

Denara grinned in anticipation. "So, Kah, we've got something to tell you. Something good. Real good, I hope."

Kah cocked her head, silently inquiring in her actions. Warlic took the reins. "You are aware that, upon the graduation of the junior class, we select the elite few of the class to return for their senior year as teacher's assistants?"

"Yes…"

"We believe that you will be of great benefit to future students should you elect to do so. It is a bit early with graduation still several months away, but I knew that it was wise to approach you now. You will be provided with a large stipend and privy to the exclusive privileges that are only available to a select few. It is your choice and yours only."

Kah was noticeably silent. She stared at the dean with an inscrutable expression on her face. "You well know that my plans do not lie within this school. My plans have been set back as it is by my choice to attend the university, and with additional duties that require me to postpone my main purpose…I'm afraid -"

"I understand," Warlic replied gravely. "Denara and I will both understand if you cannot. I do not pretend that this privilege is greater than your duties. I _do _say, however, that you special standing with us will, perhaps, _broaden_ your horizon in preparation for things to come."

Denara blinked, utterly bemused. _What's going on?_ "What the flak are you talking ab- "

"Yes," Ka interjected.

Denara blinked again. _I'm so lost, it's not even funny. _"What?"

"Yes," Kah repeated. She looked off to the side and avoided meeting either professor's eyes. "I will stay. I will stay."

Warlic sighed heavily, as if he had made a heavy decision and didn't know what repercussions he would face. "You can always hold off deciding at a later time. I don't want you to feel that I've cornered you into staying and postponing…your plans. But if you've made your choice, then I believe it is best if Denara knows of your circumstances, since you will be assigned to her. She can be trusted."

Kah nodded curtly. "I agree. If that is all?"

"Yes. You are excused. I will have the arrangements sent to you by c-mail."

"Yes, sir." Kah stood up from her chair and retreated from the office, leaving the Wolfblade professor curious yet annoyed.

"What's going on?" Denara asked impatiently. _I hate being in the dark._

Warlic paused before motioning for her to sit down. He reached into his desk drawer and, after a moment of searching, pulled out a filing folder. "Denara, I'm sure that you know that Kah is a rather special individual. Our Soluna City ambassador alerted us all when she sent in her registration to our university that all her files and information concerning her history was to be kept completely confidential. It was kept secret even from Jaania, the Runehawk Head. You understand, of course, that this was necessary."

"Jesus Christ, just spill it!"

He sighed before opening the folder and handed over the papers to the professor. "You are privy to this information because, most likely, you would have investigated it anyway. You must tell no one…Kah's birth name, Denara, is Ka'ahari…Ka'ahari of the lost planet Harimaë…"

Kah stepped out of the elevator into the University's lobby. There were several studnets still milling about, strange for a lovely Saturday morning. Evidently, something extraordinary had happened to draw them here – studnets never stuck around unless there was a bit of juicy gossip going around. As Kah neared the small group, a girl she recognized as a freshman Runehawk stepped into her path. _Bold_, Kah thought drily. _She doesn't know who I am_.

"Hey, you, did you hear that someone in Runehawk is going to be a TA for Professor Denara, the Wolfblade Head?" she asked, apparently deeply scandalized. "It's crazy! It's gotta be just a rumor," the freshman concluded decisively.

"No way! I told you that I eavesdropped on Professor Denara telling Professor Aleysia that she was going to ask the Dean sometime soon!" Another student insisted. There were uneasy murmurs among the members of the group.

_Freshmen, _Kah though derisively. As soon as they learned about the dynamics between the three groups, they acted as if the other houses were their mortal enemies, over-dramatizing the simple rivalry. It was all just for show. "Preposterous," she replied coolly. "How could such a terrible thing ever happen? Never has there been such an infraction of the House rivalry. Runehawks and Wolfblades do not mix. It's as simple as that."

There were overly loud sighs of relief from the freshmen. "Oh, good. That would be, like, horrible!" the Runehawk girl exclaimed.

Kah ignored the disappointed students and made her way to the main entrance. Outside, she boarded the ship that was waiting for her, buckled herself in, and laughed all the way to the landing port.

"Hey, Kah! Over here!" A red haired teenager waved wildly in her direction. There was a large group of seniors gathered around him already for some reason. "Kah! You've gotta see this!"

She complied reluctantly. "What is it?" The other students respectfully stepped back to allow Kah some room. The instant she took the seat beside the redhead, they formed a tight semi-circle around the two. "Dylon, you didn't hijack the Café's network, did you?"

Dylon eyed the Star Captain Café workers behind the counter. "Erm…Well, if the owner here cared, he would have locked it, right?" he stammered. "Anyway," he evaded gracelessly, "I got something to show you!" He typed something furiously into the laptop on the table.

The other students gasped and leaned forward when an image came up on the screen. "You see that?" he asked excited.y. He placed his inde finger on the screen and dragged the corners of the image outward.

It was a picture of a young man with a red-braced, platinum framed steel mask over his face. The eyes of the mask were a glowing green, doubtless added by the wearer as an upgrade – night-vision, perhaps. He was also wearing a Westion-style outfit that consisted of a tattered, beige, button-down vest and loose black pants. There was a leather strap looped from his shoulder to the opposite waist, and twin ammo belts criss-crossed across his hips. He wielded two guns, one pointed to the sky and the other angled towards the ground. A regular gun-singing bandit king.

"Ohmigod," one senior girl breathed. "He's so _hot_." There were murmurs of agreement from the other girls.

"It's a reward poster," Kah realized as Dylon brought up the accompanying text. "318 million credits, if you catch him."

"And some added benefits," a girl added. There was a substantial amount of tittering.

"Quite a catch." Kah commented casually. "What's his flag?"

"Oh, man. He's got a rap about five light-years long. There's hijacking of a freight train carrying the valuables of some Westion noble, robbery of a combined total of fifty tons of Crystallized Dragon's Breath, sabotage of some kind of activity EvilCorp was doing – apparently worth nearly 1.5 billion credits in damage. Good God!" Dylon exclaimed as he dragged the page down with his finger. "This guy's amazing! Hey! The page just updated! 319 million credits! Wonder what he did this time?"

"Probably won't show up. You know more than half the things he does doesn't show up on here," someone sighed unhappily. "Censor-happy pricks."

"Say, Kah," someone else interjected. "You think they'll hand this over to you?" There were excited gasps. A customer from two tables away looked up.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kah dismissed.

"That's a load of space junk," Dylon scoffed. "Everyone knows you're the one responsible for the capture of that terrorist guy and the pirate chick. I mean, you were absent for almost a month, and during that time, they both disappeared from the bounty site. And there were mysterious pictures on the grapevine site..."

"I don't know what you're getting at."

"Oh, get off it!" Laughter. "The Dean's assistant let it slip during announcements anyway – 'Everyone, Kah's coming back tomorrow from Lagos! Let's ask her to share the reward credits!'" More laughter.

Kah sighed. "Alright, but you didn't hear it from me. But this guy is pretty big fry." There was jeering and catcalling. "Wait, wait. I never said I would say no if the powers that be ask me to do it."

The seniors cheered and thumped her on the back. "Attagirl!" Dylong exclaimed.

Kah waved her hand for silence. The students immediately shut their mouths. "Everyone," she paused. "J6's sternside is mine." Amid the laughing and back-thumping, she noticed that the woman two tables away was still staring strangely at them. Kah slipped through the distracted throng and made for the door. Along the way, she stopped beside the woman.

"Don't mind us," she said. "I was just grandstanding for them. They don't know any better."

"Oh? From what your friends said, it sounded like the big guys _are_ going to tell you to go for it. Would you like to sit down?"

Kah stared at her for a moment. She was darkly tanned, and her emerald-green eyes and pearly-white teeth seemed to jump out of her dark face. _Rakshasa? Haskia? Uru, Tekel…What other desert planets are there?_ She took the seat opposite the stranger. "I haven't the faintest idea, in truth," Kah answered drily. "They'd have to work for it if they want to send me, though."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Reward's not big enough."

"The bounty isn't bad, considering the fact that Evil Corp doesn't want any recompense for any of his heists on them."

"Other than him in pig-iron cufs, huh?"

"Or his head. Either way, they're not offering a single credit of reward for him, even though he's screwed with their operations more than enough times. Interesting, isn't it?" She eyed Kah carefully. "That redhead over there said you name was Kah Nebula."

_She was really attentive_, Kah thought, startled. "Yes," she confirmed cautiously.

"He also mentioned you were the one responsible for turning in Adolfo Lafayette and Moly Roger recently."

"I suppose." _There's no point in hiding anything from her. She's heard it all anyway._

"Impressive."

"Over-rated. They were a big deal only because they were sighted here in Soluna City," Kah dismissed. "They just had several henchmen and the latest weapons. Useless wihout the brains to figure out how to use them."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "I see. So everything I've heard about you is true."

"Pardon?"

"You might not believe me, but you're the talk of Soluna City. I stopped by a couple of store around here, and all I hear is the university students saying how you can do the impossible. Bounty-hunter, amateur detective, impromptu surgeon, a first-class mecha pilot…"

"Obviously embellished stories. I did those jobs out of pure necessity."

"I asked around. There were stories about how you set some record at Gears University with a stripped mecha."

"The Hot Dogs were low-quality and malfunctioned at the critical point."

"Yes. All forty-one of them," the woman drawled, grinning amusedly. "Never mind. In any case, you said that J6's bounty wasn't big enough. What's your ballpark prefs?"

Kah stared incredulously at her. "I wasn't serious. I'd flak the second I went up against him."

"Then why would you say it? You aren't the type to joke around. You really would say yes if his bounty was bigger, right?"

"Only because I'd like to lost big in this case. I want to be able to try it once, get crushed, and not have to do it again for a long time," Kah explained.

"That's not your style."

_It's as if she knows me! What's with her?_ "He's different. Something's off about him, and I'm not ready to take him down just yet," she asserted. _Why am I being so familiar with her?_

"Just give me your idea of a big enough bounty, Kah Nebula," the stranger laughed.

Kah exasperatedly shook her head and exhaled sharply. "A billion credits!" she picked randomly. "Satisfied?"

"Why a billion?"

"Why not? It's an impossible number. I just picked it," she said, frowning.

"Are you sure?"

_What is she playing at?_ "Look, It took him nearly seven months to make himself worth a bit over a quarter of a million. Hopefully, it'll be at least another year and a half before he gets to a billion credits. Maybe even longer with increased security on his home planet - if he isn't captured, that is. I'll have quit the Soluna Defense Force by then – " _No, I won't,_ Kah remembered. _I'll be a TA – and being a TA means I'll be required to be a member by default. I'll still have to go on missions._

"Leaving in a year?" the young woman asked. Kah was about to correct her, but the woman spoke again. "Well, isn't that something." She stood up from her seat and extended a hand. "My name is Leonaya Jadrul. Leona for short."

"Uru," Kah guessed.

"That's right. Land of frying eggs in the air." Leona grinned, flashing her brilliant smile again.

They shook hands, and Leona left promptly without a good-bye. Kah frowned, remembering something from a lesson she had learned long ago.

_Uruka take great care to greet and care for their guests, a remnant of an ancient feudal culture built on courtesy and civility. They also dismiss them with some form of farewell – an old belief states that evil spirits will haunt the host if the guest, undismissed, dies on the way home – unless they expect to meet again fairly soon…a promise to reunite sometime soon, if you will._

_Blip._ Kah drew her Personal Handheld Instant Communicating System – Phix – from her belt. Dylon.

_Remember to meet us at the Star Captain Café. Something really cool to show you!_

[Dylon. I know. I remembered last week too – this "really cool" thing doesn't concern J6, does it?]

She was on her way there anyway, on time for once. She couldn't shake the suspicion that Leona would be at the Café again. When she arrived and cast her eyes over the general area, however, the tanned young woman was not to be seen. Slightly disapppointed that her hunch had been wrong, Kah continued to Dylon's table. This time, also, the other students allowed her to take her seat beside the redhead.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Dylon grinned excitedly. "Take a look!" He pulled a picture of J6 on his laptop, a different image this time. "Security camera in a Zrak noble's caravan caught this. Man, this is galactic! He's looking straight at the lens! He knows it's there – it's almost like he's modeling."

"Got any in the nude?" one girl asked. Giggles erupted.

"Better yet, look at his reward poster. Last week, 319 million credits. Today, 465 million. It says here he stole the entire stash of Crystallized Dragon's Breath, diamonds, gold, silver, platinum, and a whole bunch of huge jewels and uncut gems, precious metals, and a whole bunch of other stuff from the Zrak noble while they were being transferred. What an idiot, that noble! He was just trying to show off his wealth to the people! He should have kept his stuff under maximum security. I mean, Zrakmasa is Westion's sister planet. Nobody's safe when J6 is around!" The seniors cheered at his declaration.

_To them, J6 is a rebel hero, not a lowlife thief_. "Those valuables were over a 100 million credits?" Kah asked.

"Yeah, and it pissed the Zrakian off. And…he's offering an additional 50 million credit reward to anyone who catches J6, so combined, his bounty is over half a billion! Galactic!" There was another round of cheering.

"A two hundred million increase?" Kah asked in disbelief. "Impossible. A typo, I think."

"Whatever you say…" Dylon sang out, giddy.

"He spent most of seven months just on his home planet Westion and garnered only a 300 million credit bounty. Then one day, he flies over to Zrak, jacks some jewels, and his head's suddenly worth 200 million more? I don't think so. How is that even possible?" Kah demanded, staring at the screen.

"It's not!" someone shouted happily.

"Hey, Kah! You spaced out or something?" Adaline whispered frantically. "Quick, Prof Aleysia just called you!"

Kah immediately stood up and strode purposefully to the front of the classroom as if she had been paying attention all along.

Aleysia smiled, completely unaware that Kah had been sleeping at the back of the class. "Would you like to go down to the training field and demonstrate some basic maneuvers with a stripped mecha? I've turned on the visual feed, and once you're there, I'll turn on the autopilot for the training mechas."

"I don't mind at all," Kah replied blandly. Several minutes and an elevator ride later, she was strapped into the weaponless automaton that had been hanging from the practice hangar. She barely noticed when the Hot Dog mechas – condescending slang for the easy targets that they were – were activated and slowly loped over to her mecha.

The headset Kah was wearing crackled to life. _"Kah, please perform the basic pivot-pounce._" There was booing and catcalling on the other end at Aleysia's words. _"Oh, all right. Miss Nebula, your famous side-grav evasion, if you will."_

Kah sighed unhappily. She could be doing much more productive things than doing a few maneuvers during classtime. Well, the faster this was over with, the better.

She flipped the hip valve of the mecha seconds before the Hot Dog reached her, forcing out a furious jet of air pressure. Although it had seemed as if she had been cornered against the stadium wall and would be shamefully knocked down by the Hot Dog, the giant machine suddenly jerked to the right as if it had been violently pushed. Using the momentum of the quick movement, Kah pinwheeled the mecha's legs and landed horizontally on the wall. She was suspended for a mere second or two, but it was enough to dodge the Hot Dog running her way. Her mecha dropped on top of the Hot Dog, bringing it down with a deafeningly loud crunch.

She nearly flinched when the rowdy cheering caused feedback directly into her sensitive ears.

The 1080. The Hammerthrow, the Sharkfin. All moves that Ka's classmates had named and declared Kah's signature feats. It was ridiculous how they assumed she was interested in patenting them. They were improvised moves that had been born in the heat of battle, not some fancy acts in a mechshow.

The dismissal bell that buzzed through her headset wasn't a moment too soon. Without any prompting from the professor, Kah was already disconnecting the headset jack and driving the mecha full force toward the hangar. She had had enough of this idiocy. It was past time to move on.

Ten minutes later, she was in uniform and hefting a staff-type energy weapon that glowed purple and was bladed at both ends. She gave it an experimental twirl, nodding when the appropriate hum buzzed through the air. _Good_.

"Hey, Kah, spar with me?" A tall, brown-eyed brunette stood behind her at the ready, another energy weapon in his hands. "I got a new mace type. I wanted to try it out."

"Sure," she agreed, but it was at the best half-hearted. "Take your stance, Neil."

The match didn't last long. The mace was heavy and unfamiliar in Neil's hands, and Kah was able to dodge every strike at every angle. After a series of simple parries, she finally extended her weapon with a snap of her wrist and dug one edge into a small decorative notch on the fulcrum of Neil's mace handle. The heavy weapon slipped out of his grip and fell to the floor with a solid _thump_. Scattered applause littered the room when Neil lifted his hands in defeat. They both bowed out, the apparent signal for other students to offer Kah a demonstration of their own talents.

She sparred with as many partners as time allowed, even taking on two or three simultaneously at times. As expected, she was declared the fair victor in every match, except the final one with Trevor, a daring Mystraven junior. He had attempted to place his hand on her rear as a practical joke, but she hadn't viewed it as such. She whacked him with an open palm on the back of his head and swiped his legs off the floor with her weapon. The dismissal bell rang as he tumbled to the floor, rubbing his head sheepishly.

She had already changed and was on the elevator before most of her classmates were even in the dressing room; she didn't want to hear their cheeky hints and suggestive cat-calling. They were all disgusting.

The moment she stepped off the elevator into the dorm floor, her Phix vibrated on her belt, signalling a new message.

Kah, please come to my office – Professor Aleysia

She grimaced. Obviously, Aleysia was facing another complication on her computer – the woman couldn't touch a mouse without having the machine experience a technical difficulty. Nevertheless, Kah dropped off her things at her dorm and returned to the elevator. Aleysia was waiting patiently at her desk when she arrived, eyes glued onto the computer screen. "Hello, Kah. Come over here and see if you can find out what's wrong with this, if you please."

_I know what's wrong with it. You touched it. _"What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, I was uploading the vid of your demonstration this afternoon, but I can't seem to be able to watch it. I really need it to show the freshmen tomorrow, since they're studying compound tactics. Could you fix this while I go talk to Warlic about my class curriculum?" Without waiting for an answer, Aleysia immediately rose and rushed out the door, clearly in a hurry.

Kah sat in the swivel chair and positioned her fingers over the touch keyboard. On the screen, nothing seemed to be amiss, save for a small window almost too miniscule to be seen. She placed her finger on the window, and with her other hand, she entered the maximizing hotkey into the keyboard. Strangely, the window did not maximize; it simply began to blink. Puzzled, Kah opened up the source code with the override option, but the data that came up held no recognizable symbols – just various shapes and squiggles.

_Okay, not good_. She attempted to quarantine the program, but it refused to budge. Instead, the status bar blinked once and read "97% - Override Abort? Not Responding."

A virus of some sort? 97% of what? Kah immediately reached for the power button, but an alert on the screen made her hesitate.

-Don't turn it off.-

She stared, wary and skeptical. Her hand still hovered over the power key. Was this a practical joke? Like Dylon, some particular students enjoyed hacking into the school network.

-Open up the notepad program or something. We can communicate like that, since I can see whatever you're doing on the screen.-

_No way. Who knows what program will trigger what?_

-Just do it. You froze my prgram. I can't do anything unless you fix it.-

"Reading my freakin' mind," Kah muttered. There really was nothing to lose anyway. A student hacker would aim for the curriculum files, and Professor Aleysia always had an emergency hard copy. She opened up the notepad program and typed in a brief message.

[What are you looking for? Curriculum files aren't in this foler.]

There was a quick reply. –Not looking for that.-

[You do realize you're just downloading Aleysia's demo clips. If you wanted to practice, stadium's always open.]

-I do realize. I'm just an ardent admirer of your techniques.-

Kah paused. So the hacker already knew that she would be on the vids, and strangely, he knew that it was _her_ on Aleysia's computer.. Presumably, he or she had been downloading the clips for some time, and he also knew that she was the professor's go-to expert in times of technical need. [I'm flattered.]

-No, you're not. You're creeped out.-

[Maybe. You sound like a stalker to me.]

-Not a stalker, don't worry. I'm just envious of your piloting abilites. I've been downloading the clips for about a few days. You have no idea how many demos there are of you.-

[Are you getting sick of looking at my face then?]

-Silly goose. I can't see your face when you're in the mecha.-

[Well, as long as you don't scrap Aleysia's computer, feel free to download away.]

-Hey, what's your IP address?-

[I don't have a personal computer. I just have a Phix. ID is Telemachus 4622791.]

-You're so primitive. Don't you need one for classes?-

[I go to the library. I don't have time to go shopping for a laptop.]

-Primitive ape. Anyway, if I feel like revealing my identity, I'll c-mail you.-

[What do I do to get the vid to finish downloading?]

-You need to abort the quarantining.-

Kah closed out the appropriate program. Sure enough, the download icon now read 98%. [Great. Now finish it and try not to get caught again. And if my underwear goes missing from my dorm, I swear I'll find you and wring your neck.]

-Like I said, I'm not a stalker.-

Kah bumped into Aleysia on her way out. "A glitch, that's all," she lied. "I took care of it."

"Thank you, Kah. You're so dependable. I don't know what I'd do witout you." The praise was empty. It had no meaning for Kah, who was subjected to such flimsy recognition for equally flimsy works every day.

She was beginning to regret her choice to return as TA. Was she really going to be able to accomplish anything here? Was it going to be worth the effort?

-Hey Kah, meet us at the Café today. Don't forget again!-

[Got it. I'll be there.] She guiltily hung up Tek's spare wrench and untied the work apron. "Hey, Tek!"

The young woman's head peeked out from behind a piece of a mecha's broken chassis. "Yeah?" She pulled off her glove and ran her fingers through her cropped hair.

"I have to split. Sorry for ditching you, but I didn't go the last two weekends, and Dylon's been throwing fits all week."

"It's alright," Tek assured her. "You've helped out a lot already. I can go ahead and close up shop for today!"

Kah absent-mindedly waved good-bye as she left the repairs shop. It was another beautiful afternoon, and the University students could be seen having parties ad picnics out on the green expanse of the park. Memories of a life half-forgotten lingered close to mind, but she quashed it roughly and continued on her way to the Café.

It had been a month since she had met Leona, and Kah had all but forgotten about her, and yet, she could have sworn that she could see someone who looked just like her in the crowd behind Dylon. She frowned when the gaggle of students settled into place; that _was_ Leona standing there as well. She had a light black cowl covering her face, but her dark sking and green eyes were plainly visible. Yes, that was Leona.

"Kah," Leona greeted, her eyes twinkling. "Long time no see."

Kah nodded in agreemtn. "You kept me waiting," she remarked.

"You weren't here last week, or the week before that," she pointed out.

"Kah," Dylon interrupted. "Quick, look at this! J6 is now a wanted criminal is nearly all of Westion, Zrakmasa, Canga…His flags are stacking!"

"Huh, who would have guessed?" Leona murmured. "Kah, you know what the reward is for turing him in?" she asked amusedly.

"Agh!" Dylon sputtered. "It's amazing!" He dragged the current window to the side and brought another to the front. "He's now an official B-clas criminal. Bounty was set at nearly 800 last week. At this rate, he'll be targeted by Soluna's top pilots!"

"He's suicidal," Kah said. "There's something wrong with him."

"He's sexy," one girl said.

"You have a fundamental brain problem," Kah countered.

"He's daring," another student said. He pointed to the screen. "He's _daring_."

"Oh, yes, his daring will help him when Soluna sends out a kill squad to capture him," she said sarcastically. "It'll be put to good use when he's locked up in Drachma."

"Drachma's real?" Leona asked skeptically. "I thought it was just a myth."

"Me too," echoied Dylon and several others.

Kah stared at them blankly. "Oh," she said vaguely. "Yeah. My mistake. Anyhow, he's going to get caught ooner or later. He's throwing himself into the lion's den."

"He's escaped them before," Leona said quietly.

Kah stared at her. _What was that?_

"…And he'll escape them again."

_Her attitude. Not resigned. Not even admiring. It's…_

"Hey," Dylon interrupted. "Holy flak, this is crazy!" In red, bolded font, the updated reard count was shown on the screen.

"Hm…Only a little bit until he's kill bail," Leona mused. "Say, Kah, didn't you say you would go after him when his bounty got into the, ah, ten-digit area?"

"I wasn't serious," she sighed. Her heart sank when the seniors all turned to look at her. "Besides, he's way out of my leage. He's guaranteed kill bait at this rate, like Leona said. This isn't for amateurs."

"Whatever happened to 'J6's sternside is mine?'" Dylon asked fiercely, his eyes blazing. "You took down Roger and Lafayette, didn't you?"

"Like I said," she said drily, "he's way out of my leage. He's definite kill bait. Really not my area of expertise. Until he does something absolutely terrible," Kah drawled, "I'm not the slightest bit stupid or interested enough to try to take him on my own. I mean, I haven't got anything personal against him."

There was a chorus of booing.

"Personal?" Leona asked.

_Of course Leona would ask the strangest things._ "Well, the worst thing he's done so far is steal from Evil Corp, and it's pretty much well-known that they don't have honest business practices, if you know what I mean." There were reluctant murmurs of agreement. "Kind of like a Robin Hood, except I don't know what he does with the money and junk. Not really someone who deserves to spend time in a ten by ten cell. I can tell you right now that a lot of the pilots in the SDF aren't really all that keen on taking him out of commission either, and Commander – Queenadent - Odessa couldn't care two ways about him. And neither can I. But the day he does something filty, that's the day we all would be glad to tear him up. Me, well, I'm not his level, but I'd go on a suicide mission just to get a crack at him, too." She shrugged. "I have common sense. He hasn't done anything amoral yet, so I'm perfectly happy with conditions right now. No reason to go whining to Queenadent Odessa about it, anyhow."

"I see," Leona murmured, her green eyes gleaming with an unidentifiable emotion. "Personal."

"Right. Whatever. Just watch. Dean Warlic will be sending you any day now."

_Such faith in me_, she thought amusedly. "I invite you all to my funeral, then," she smirked. "There'll be cookies."

Kah tossed her blanket to the side and sat up. Snippets of the Café pow-wow earlier that day persisted in tormenting her.

Leona's attitute…It was so strange. It was almost as if she, in a way, idolized him more than all the others. No, not idolized. Respected? No, not exactly, although that was a part of it. What _was_ it?

Unable to chase away her worries, she finally slid off her bed and jammed her feet into her slippers. Despite the approaching summer, the dorms were always cold in the middle of the night, and she wasn't going to be caught dead with bare feet.

She sat at her desk, leaning back in the ergonomic swivel chair. Lacing her hands together behiind her neck, she stared blankly at the dark ceiling.

_Should I really stay?_ She asked herself. _Is it worth it?_

She remembered what Warlic had said. Being a TA was nothing to laugh at – Gears University's funds would be availiable to her, and she'd be privy to the pools of information that were not available to the public. She would be assigned to any combat teams that would be sent to raid the Shadowscythe hives.

But she had a duty to her people, to the millions of refugees currently housed on Lore. She needed to find them a home, needed to rebuild their great Crystallized Dragon's Breath mining industry – that was their lifeline. It couldn't be done while she still lingered in Soluna. Here, she was stripped of most of her power. Her title was only that of a n ambassador, and ambassadors couldn't do much in terms of political petititioning. And bribery was out of the question – not that Kah was above it. No, it was because the new Queenadent was not so easily swayed by such tactics as the former Kingadent, Slugwrath. Bribery was out of the question. And even if the Queenadent was willing to accept such payment, she would probably suck the Harieshaka's stockpile dry. She was a canny one, and she knew too well that the war against the Shadowscythe needed fuel – and lots of it.

When would the problems ever end?

Kah closed her eyes, wiling herself to imagine how it had been, how it used to be before the invaders came. Her people had sacrificed so much…the wild, doomed planet that their ancestors had tamed. Not just tamed, but exploited. Gone! They had destroyed it when the Shadowscythe planted colonies on it. There had been no looking back.

A weaker people could not have done it. And yet! And yet, Odessa could only give them sanctuary on Lore! How could she? The least they deserved was a new home – no matter how small, just a planet of their own to call home…

She clenched the arms of her chair, wiling her fury away. The Queenadent had far greater worries. The Shadowscythe seemed to be picking up pace as time went on, their progress relentless and terrible. The Harieshaka had sacrificed to keep back the invaders. They could hold on a bit longer.

She dismissed any further thoughts on the subjects from her mind. Time would solve it. The real issue keeping her up was another matter: Leona.

Kah couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Ever since she had shown up, she had spawned even more interest in J6. The students were complete fanatics now, due to her gentle egging. And they believed that Kah was destined to have some showdown with the Westion native. What was she playing at?

"I'm imagining things," Kah told herself sternly. "Now go back to sleep. Dunce."

"Leona…" Kah said warningly.

"Hey, I'm just pointing out that he's worth a lot of money. Specifically, over one billion credits."

"Leona!" she snapped, glaring at the students who were watching her expectantly. "That has nothing to do with me. I thought I made that clear last weekened. And all this past week," she added for her classmates' benefit.

"Look, Kah," Dylon cajoled. "We're behind you one-hundred percent."

"Unfortunately," she hissed, "J6 will shoot at me from the front, not the back. You really aren't much support." She shrugged off his hand and nearly bowled through the other students in her haste to make for the exit.

"Kah!" Leona called. "Wait!" She hurried after her, trying to catch up. "Kah!"

She whirled around, ready to spit fire. "What's with you? When have I ever said that I wanted to go and find J6? When have I ever said that I wanted to see his bionic face? When have I ever said that I wanted to get my butt kicked – Why are you looking at me like that?"

Leona's yes narrowed. "Why are you so certain that you won't succeed? What if you _are_ ready?"

"I'm not. Let's leave it at that."

"Let's not. Tell me, Kah. What's going on, really?"

Kah turned forward again, walking slowly ahead. Leona tagged along. "I saw him once."

"Yeah?"

"Talked to him. Fought with him. Tried to take him down."

"And?"

"Failed. He gunned me down on the roof of the train. I was an idiot. I told myself that I was going to take him down, even if I went with him. I threw myself at him and tried to knock both of us off the train."

"Got hurt?"

"Nope. He was like a tree, I swear. He didn't have on a grav suit, and he was able to keep his balance even though I hurled myself at him. Maybe if I had a grav suit on – the conductor offered me one, but I told him that it would just hamper me – I could have nailed him. But I didn't."

"So what happened?"

"I tried to pin him down. Didn't work either. I did everything I could. Even things I didn't think I could do. But he never went down."

Leona's eyes softened. "He's something, huh?"

"He started toying with me," Kah continued agitatedly. "Laughing. Playing. I lost it."

Leona's eyes snapped wide open. "What?"

_Why does she look like that? Pilots break. All of them. Mine was just caused by something…something not as common. _"I went bonkers. Daffy. Loco. How many other ways are there to say it?"

Her expression was suddenly uncertain. _Why does she look like that? I mean, I would understand if it was sympathetic, but that's not it. _"Kah, you broke?"

"Yeah. But I remember every second of what happened. I might have gone death commando over him, but he disabled me. I don't know if he meant to, but he dislocated both my shoulders. I don't think _I_ even knew. I don't know how, but I still kept on going. But his ship came. Hovered right next to the train. I don't know who wasdriving, but I can tell you right now that it was an ace pilot. And that J6 is fast. Faster than anything I've even seen. He's not just a quick draw. He's _fast_. Faster than anyone I've ever seen. He got away. And I was still on the train."

Leona watched her carefully. "I thought you said that you broke."

"Yeah. I don't know," Kah admitted. "It's never happened before, and it hasn't happened again. I never returned to my ship after he got away. I stayed up there – I think I was waiting for him to come back. I don't know."

"You broke because you lost him?"

Kah's shoulders sagged. "I guess. That's what the Dean said. Anyway, he eventually sent Starbuck to retrieve me." She laughed sickly. "I was just gone. I didn't recognize him – my mentor! He was a sophomore when I was a freshman; he was assigned to become my mentor after I broke his school record for the entrance exam. I didn't recognize him…I really messed him up."

"You're close?"

"Yeah. Thicker than blood. Anyway, he called for backup, and they were able to stun me. He dragged me back to Soluna, my ship in tow. I was gone for three weeks, broken for two of them. In any case, they fixed me up when I came back here. Nurse Helia gave me some medication for a few months, just in case. So I'm fine now."

"I see," Leona said slowly.

"And what about you?"

"What?"

"What's with your obsession with J6? Seems like you can't get enough of him."

To Kah's surprise, Leona began to laugh. "Oh, you're right about that…Well, I'm just a fan."

Kah frowned. "But you don't talk like a fan. You sure you don't have some kind of fixation on him? You…you talk like you _know_ him, or like he's your friend."

Leona stared at her. "You're something, you know that?" she said finally.

"My bad," Kah said, emabarrassed. "I sound like an idiot, don't I?"

Leona said nothing. Finally, after an awkward moment of silence, she asked,"What time is it?"

"Eh…Phix says it's close to two."

"Well, it's time. Now or never. I don't know if you'll hate me for this, but I would rather see how all this plays out." Leona dragged her along in the direction that they had already been going. "We're going to the announcing screen."

"Between Tek's shop and the port for the University? What are you talking about? Why-"

"That's the one. We need to hurry, or we'll be late. Come on!"

Alarmed, she hustled along, wondering what could possibly be the matter. Announcements were never on on Saturdays. Despite her misgivings, she followed Leona through the crowd. Finally, they stood before the giant screen.

"It's not on," Kah said. "Leona?"

"Just wait." After several mnutes, Leona smiled. "Okay, now be amazed. Good luck. I hope I see you again some time, and I hope I'm doing the right thing." She took a step back into the crowd, and Kah was about to ask where she was going when the sound of popping static made her turn back around.

"Announcements? Now?"

Others stopped behind her to watch as well, expecting either the Queenadent Odessa's face or the loal announers. Instead, when the view focused sufficiently, a collective gasp rose from the captive audience, and all the color in Kah's face drained away in one swit second.

"Hey," the masked man greeted, peering at her through the screen. "Long time no see. Remember me?"

_No. No. Impossible. It can't be._

"It's me. J6."


End file.
